As a result of coastal storms in the past several years the County of Orange (California) incurred large and unanticipated costs in providing emergency protection for private shorefront dwellings. Many of those dwellings were badly damaged because of inadequate design to counter ocean wave forces. In 1984, the County initiated a study to provide objective coastal design data and to establish uniform minimum design standards for protective devices such as seawalls and revetments, and for pile-supported dwellings. Coastal property owners and regulatory officials benefit by the availability of the data and guidelines for use in the design of new coastal protective devices and structures, and in evaluating the adequacy of existing devices and structures.